PurposeFit Industry guide
AI tools for accountants and bookkeepers
Practices and bookkeepers spend a lot of the week on writing, spreadsheets and admin around the numbers. These are the jobs where an AI tool can help, with our best pick and an alternative for each.
7 jobs where AI can help
All tasks →Analyse client spreadsheets and make charts
Task: Analyse a spreadsheet or make charts. See all picks →Write and check Excel or Google Sheets formulas
Task: Write an Excel or Sheets formula. See all picks →Write up client calls and review meetings
Task: Transcribe audio or take meeting notes. See all picks →Summarise and question long documents
Task: Study or understand my documents. See all picks →Keep procedures and know-how in one place
Task: Organise notes and team knowledge. See all picks →Automate repetitive admin between your apps
Task: Automate a repetitive workflow. See all picks →Picks and reasons come from our task pages. Pricing models are taken from each tool’s own website and dated on its tool page; prices change, so check before you buy. Editorial picks are never paid for.
UK privacy and compliance note
- Client financial records are confidential. Keep identifiable client data out of AI tools your practice hasn’t approved, and follow your professional body’s rules on confidentiality.
- Tell clients before you record or transcribe a call.
- If you put personal data about clients, customers or staff into an AI tool, UK GDPR applies. The tool provider will usually be your processor, so check it offers a data processing agreement (ICO guidance on contracts with processors).
- Check where each tool stores data. If it’s outside the UK, the ICO guidance on international transfers explains what’s needed.
- Check whether the provider uses what you type or upload to train its AI, and switch that off where the plan allows.
This is general information, not legal advice. For the official view, start with the ICO advice for small organisations, the ICO guidance on AI and data protection and, for higher-risk uses, the ICO guidance on DPIAs.
AI Tool Audit
See the £79 AI Tool Audit
Want a plan for your practice?
List the jobs that eat your week, such as client chasers, review-call write-ups and month-end reporting, and get a written report with a tool for each task, setup guides and UK GDPR notes. £79 inc. VAT, one-off, no calls, report within 3 working days.
FAQ
Which AI tools should accountants and bookkeepers start with?
It depends on the job. Our best picks are: for draft client emails, chasers and reminders, ChatGPT; for analyse client spreadsheets and make charts, Julius AI; for write and check Excel or Google Sheets formulas, Formula Bot. Every job on this page has a best pick and an alternative, and the AI Tool Finder builds a shortlist from your own answers.
Is it safe to put client information into AI tools?
Only once you’ve checked the tool. UK GDPR applies to personal data you put into an AI tool, so check the provider’s data processing agreement, where it stores data and whether it trains its AI on your inputs. The ICO guidance on AI and data protection is the official starting point. This is general information, not legal advice.
Are there free AI tools for accountants and bookkeepers?
Yes. Of the best picks on this page, ChatGPT, Julius AI, Formula Bot, Otter.ai, NotebookLM, Notion AI and Zapier have a free plan, going by the pricing model each one publishes. Free plans have limits, so check each tool’s pricing page before you rely on one.
Are these recommendations paid for?
No. Editorial picks are never paid for. Some links may be affiliate links; if so they’re marked Ad, and the pick would be the same without it.
Can you recommend a tool for every task in my business?
Yes, that’s what our AI Tool Audit does. List up to 10 tasks and within 3 working days you get a written PDF report with a recommended tool and an alternative for each, a setup guide for each app, costs, a 30-day rollout plan and UK GDPR notes. It costs £79 inc. VAT, and there are no calls.